Round Up Those Loose Beads Once and For All!

January 3rd, 2009 in other crafts, jewelry making

Susan Beal, contributor

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When I cleaned my craft room after the great holiday gift-making rush last month, I found all these random beads and rhinestones scattered everywhere. Stashing them in this little palette made it easy to put them all away at once instead of finding their exact spots each time!

Photo: Susan Beal

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If you were feverishly working on holiday jewelry-making projects like I was, I bet you also have a few stubborn beads, charms, rhinestones, and odds and ends floating around your craft room in the aftermath of it all. I came up with this simple idea for sorting out and putting away those few bits and pieces that pester us all -- putting them right into a plain white paint palette. So when I spot a lone faceted Lucite round or chunky carnelian, I stash it in one of the little compartments instead of hunting its exact storage place right that second. Later, when I've filled the palette with a few dozen randoms, I put them all away at once instead of one by one (by one, by one, by one...). Instant order! Now I just leave the palette on my bead shelf for future lost-and-found beads.

I love this palette -- it is such a versatile little tool. I have also used it for choosing colors and styles for designs -- the plain white background shows the delicate variations in shade and size so clearly, it's perfect for isolating just the thing for your next project, or deciding if those two beads really do look good together. (Or solving the age-old "is it black or navy??" conundrum.)

If you like this idea, stay tuned for tomorrow's post, which is my New Year's resolution how-to: organize your bead and charm boxes with simple, colorful embellished labels! I'm so inspired to get started on new beading projects now that I can instantly find my pinks, blacks, blues, or anything else I'm looking for.